Washington State Tax Fact #13: Education Spending Already at Record Levels

Supporters of the billion dollar I-884 tax hike would have us believe that Washington’s schools do not have the “necessary resources” for a quality education. History shows that this simply isn’t true—Washington’s inflation-adjusted, per pupil spending has increased by 16.5 percent since 1994 according to the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Yet, in spite of record levels of funding, school performance and student achievement have dropped. That’s because less than half of “education spending” actually makes it into basic instruction. Putting even more money into a system that is offering declining results is not the answer.

Washington needs education reform, not higher taxes and more spending. One solution is school choice, which gives parents a scholarship to send their children to the public or private school of their choice. School choice would inject competition into Washington’s education system by forcing schools to compete.

The record is clear: more spending has not made Washington’s schools any better. The Evergreen State should look to education reforms like school choice— not a 15.4 percent sales tax hike.

For more information, please visit http://www.freedomworks.org/washington